MSU Billings first school in Montana to have women's triathlon team

MSU Billings added the women's triathlon to its list of varsity sports this year.

Right now, the team has just two athletes. Coach Kevin Bjerke said there must be at least three athletes to have a scoring team. He said the two women on the team are great and he's hoping to add more.

Bjerke said, "Recruiting is going pretty well and I think after this first season, we'll really start to build some depth and have a good, full team."

The triathlon consists of a 750 meter open-water swim, a draft-legal 20 kilometer bike ride and a five kilometer run.

Madalyn Terwilliger and Madisan Chavez are the two members of the team. They had their first triathlon August 31.

Terwilliger said, "I never thought I would be one of the first people on the team."

Chavez said, "I love it. It's something new and something I really want to get good at."

Bjerke said, "It's an exciting new opportunity. Especially if you are a swimmer in Montana in particular. There's no where to go to swim in college in Montana if you want to stay in state. So, this is the one good opportunity if you want to continue using those swimming skills at the college level and keep competing."

Montana State University Billings is the first school in Montana to add the women's triathlon and just the 24th in the nation.